Mike Harris, of Fontana, applies for a personal home cultivation permit through Fontana Assistant Planner Ivan Galeazzi in Fontana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. (Photo by Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Fontana is on the hook for $106,916 in legal fees after a judge ruled in favor of a resident who argued that the city’s restrictive policy for people who want to grow cannabis at home violated California law.

The city was expected to appeal the ruling, which was the first legal test of how far California cities can go in restricting residents’ newfound freedom to cultivate their own marijuana. Instead, Fontana let the timeline to protest the decision run out.

Now, on the judge’s orders, city officials are drafting a new ordinance for marijuana growers. A revised policy is tentatively scheduled for a vote at the Feb. 26 City Council meeting, according to city spokeswoman Martha Guzman-Hurtado.

“It is a win,” said Mike Harris, the Fontana resident who sued the city with help from the American Civil Liberties Union of California and the Drug Policy Alliance.

Mike Harris leaves after applying with the city of Fontana for a permit to grow cannabis at home on Thursday, November 8, 2018. (Photo by Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The lawsuit was over a city ordinance approved in January 2017 in response to Proposition 64. The ballot measure legalized recreational cannabis California. It also gave every Californian 21 or older a right to cultivate up to six marijuana plants for personal use.

But the law says cities or counties can ban outdoor gardens and “reasonably regulate” indoor grows. And a growing number of cities have instituted rules for in-home cultivation that test the limits of what’s considered “reasonable.”

Fontana’s policy required residents who wanted to cultivate marijuana at home to first get a $411 permit from the city. They also had to pay for background checks, they couldn’t have overdue city fees, renters had to get a notarized OK from their landlords and growers had to agree to allow city officials to inspect their homes.

In November, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge David Cohn ruled “the city of Fontana has gone too far.” He struck down major portions of the ordinance, including the $411 fee. And he ordered the city to revise the policy so it didn’t include such restrictive mandates.

On Wednesday, Feb. 6, Cohn ruled Harris is entitled to $106,916 in legal fees, which all are expected to be donated to the ACLU and Drug Policy Alliance. Tamar Todd, senior director of legal affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, said Monday that a final order to pay the fees still has to be settled in court.

“It’s a real shame that the city brought this on themselves and then had to charge the taxpayer for their hubris,” Harris said.

He admits he actually hoped Fontana would appeal the ruling since, if they won at that level, the case could set precedent for the entire state.

As it stands, attorneys can cite the Fontana ruling in their own suits. Harris already heard that happening as he sat in Wednesday on a case filed against the city of Colton over its marijuana permitting system. And Todd said other cities are expected to take note of the ruling when drafting home cultivation policies.

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Harris said he hasn’t yet planted his own cannabis garden. The holidays and personal stuff kept him busy.

But one day soon, the retired iron worker said, he intends to start taking advantage of his right — now solidified in court — to grow marijuana at home.

Brooke Edwards Staggs is a general assignment reporter with a focus on covering the politics, business, health and culture of cannabis. Journalism has led Staggs to a manhunt in Las Vegas, a zero gravity flight over Queens and a fishing village in Ghana. The Big Bear native is addicted to education. She earned her bachelors degree in English from California Baptist University, then got her master's in education as she taught high school English in the Inland Empire. After four years in the classroom, she left in 2006 to be a student again herself, earning a masters degree in journalism from New York University while interning and freelancing for a variety of publications. She sees journalism as another form of teaching, helping readers make informed decisions and better understand the world around them. Staggs spent five years as a staff writer then city editor at the Daily Press in Victorville. She won several awards for her work there, including best breaking news story from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for her tale of a teen who shot his father in a hunting accident. She joined the Orange County Register in January 2013, covering several south Orange County communities and the city of Tustin before taking on the marijuana beat in February 2016. On occasion, she also teaches community college and ghostwrites nonfiction books. Staggs loves dancing and new adventures. She hates water slides and injustice. If she doesn’t get right back to you, there’s a good chance she’s sitting with her DJ husband on a plane or train or boat destined for somewhere – anywhere – they’ve never been.